No matter the number of bedrooms you have or the neighborhood you live in, your home is valuable. It is the place you spend the most important parts of your days and where you come to rest after being away too long. Choosing a home in which to spend these treasured moments is a huge decision. A decision based not only on your checklist of specs, but the feeling you get when you walk through the door, as you envision the memories you’ll soon be making there. It can be exhausting to consider all critical pieces and figures, along with the other stresses that come with moving.
I’m Kristi Griffin, a realtor in the North Houston area and buyers are my specialty. Helping my clients find their dream home is my passion…but sometimes it takes some time to show them what I can bring to the table. I always try to get a full understanding of what they’re looking for before we even begin our search. From that point, I take my industry knowledge and experience to formulate a plan to move forward to the next steps.
The essential and sometimes overwhelming part of the process is deciding on an offer price on a home you think could be “the one”. It’s not advisable to come in too low and be bumped by a higher bidder, or even worse, offend the seller enough that they don’t respond. Coming in too high and paying too much is never a good plan when there is an opportunity to keep more of your money in your pocket. It’s a tricky balance. If you don’t have the expertise of a realtor, making an uncalculated offer can feel like a shot in the dark.
Without giving away all of my secrets…here are a few things I consider when advising my clients on the offer price we should present to the seller.
Which homes on the market are the seller’s biggest competition? For what price did similar homes in the neighborhood recently sell? After researching this, we’ll compare the number of days on the market amongst the homes that have recently sold. The days on the market is almost as important as the price a similar home has sold for in researching what the market may be saying about the home in which you’re interested.
We also want to look at some data on the homes recently sold in the area you’re buying in. Have homes been selling for what they were listed at? What was the selling price per square foot? Digging even further down, what was the condition of the market and the homes when they were sold, compared to the home you’re considering and the current market? One other item that can be hard to pinpoint is insight into the seller’s situation on these recently sold homes. This can play a huge part in the selling price and # of days on the market. Anytime I can, I reach out to the listing agent to see what additional information I might be able to use in this decision.
All of these details combined make for a well thought out, informed decision that you and I will come to, together. We will come up with an offer price the buyer can’t refuse, and before you know it, you’re moving into your dream home.
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